As a generation retires with more money in their houses than the bank, this question will only become more pressing. We revealed how a new wave of retirement interest-only mortgages could be about to emerge. Homeowners could use one to have a more comfortable retirement, clear some debt, or hand the kids or grandkids an early inheritance – perhaps to buy a home for their own young family. Is that a good idea or a recipe for disaster – and how did we even end up here?
In a conversation that tracks all the way back to the mortgage boom of the Thatcher years, Simon Lambert, Rachel Rickard Straus and Georgie Frost dive into the homes as a cash machine question on this week’s podcast.